30.4.12

I finished off a roll of film this weekend; these were taken with Fujipro 400H, which I find hard to go back to after Kodak Portra.

Geoff and I designed this tote for Little Paper Planes! Their theme for 2012 is “prolific,” so we were asked to play with the word. We went with a simple, text-based design, since that is what we do. I’ve been getting a lot of use out of mine. It’s available exclusively through LPP.

17.4.12

(I took so many of the items here from the Adeline Adeline website because, wow, what a beautiful bicycle shop it is.)
1., 2., & 3.: Helmets! I threw in that picture of Jane Birkin in the middle for a little “cute girl in a helmet” inspiration (it exists!). Of course, that’s a scooter helmet that she’s wearing, but it’s a similar idea. Speaking of scooter helmets, the Ruby helmet on the left is so pretty—if only bicycle helmets could look like that (who wants to buy a helmet factory with me? Kickstarter? Anyone?). The helmet here is the Ruby Pavillion St Exupéry and it costs quite a pretty penny! The one I use is the Bern on the right. It’s the Watts model, and I have it in gloss white. As far as bike helmets go, it’s cute, and no one is looking at me anyway. If they do look at me, I doubt they’re thinking about what a dork I am, or caring in the slightest really. I used to hate wearing a helmet but it’s really not a big deal, even when I have to pull out my high ponytail or whatever.
4. Faux bike short leggings by Norwegian Wood.
5. Wet & Wendy mini cape, via tifamade.
6. Crane Karen Spring Strike Bell in brass. I had to get a new bell because the one I had had a long lever that caught in the brake cables of my new bike. I went for small and adorable (I got mine at Bikes on Wheels).

16.4.12

On Friday something very exciting happened to me: I got a new bike! For years now I have been using an old Raleigh bike, as seen here, as well as here—incidentally, the plastic ring on the cupholder split after a while, so sad. That bike, which I hope to restore one day, is precious to me because it was given to me by my sweet friend Sarah after another bike I had was stolen. Unfortunately, it isn’t the best ride, which is one of the reasons why it came to be in my possession in the first place. It is so heavy! I live only 3 kilometres from where I work, and biking is the quickest, most economical, and most pleasant way to get there in the spring, summer, and fall. My new/old three speed is a dream! It rides like a happy cloud, and it was so much more affordable than a brand new bike would have been. I had been complaining about my Raleigh for months and Geoff decided to
monitor Craigslist for me, an activity I consider to be a huge drag. He knew that, after rejecting so many of the bikes he showed me (I sound so lovely right now!), I would go for the bike that had the word
“beautiful” in the description.

I am a very timid and careful cyclist, mostly because I have witnessed a few horrifying bike accidents, but I do ride my bike at night quite often. Chelsea posted about these nautical-inspired reflective vests in 2009, and I have never forgotten about them. I don’t remember if they were actually available for purchase or if they were made for the lookbook (which is no longer online). I haven’t used my sewing machine in ages, and with my new bike excitement propelling me, I decided to make myself a reflective collar.

It was really easy to make. I used the collar from this dress that I made a few years ago, which I made with a vintage sewing pattern. I have since misplaced the pattern, so I had to trace the collar, making it a little longer so that my hair wouldn’t cover the reflective tape at the bottom. I couldn’t wrap my brain around how to draft and sew the front bib part of the Bobbin vest, and decided to keep it simple. I used black twill fabric, black twill tape, and sew-in reflective tape; the iron-on kind is a little trickier to use on a curve.

I have a few more bicycle-related posts filed away in my brain, and they may make an appearance here over the week. An informal Bike Week, maybe.

12.4.12

I am going to take a break from posting pictures of my face to make a few announcements; we have a few all-local events coming up. Lucky you, Toronto.

First up is City of Craft’s first-ever spring show, on April 21. There will be so many cool vendors, although you guys had better get in line early to get your hands on those Falconwright pouches (check out mine below, which I got last December)! Plus the venue is really beautiful: Trinity St Paul’s Church at 427 Bloor Street West. We’ll have a few rummage items as well as the usual totes, prints, and scarves. More information here.

We will also be taking part in this traveling market, hosted by our friends at Muttonhead. This event will have items for sale from more awesome vendors (hi, Bre!) as well as beer tastings, gardening installations, men’s shaves and cuts... pretty amazing. April 17 to the 21, at 709 College Street. More information is available here.

9.4.12

Just a few more cherry blossom pictures (my sunglasses are Karen Walker Number Ones from Summerland), these ones taken with my Canon film camera. We had first stopped by the blossoms around noon and then, later, riding our bikes home again, we stopped for a second time. With the sun lower in the sky, the petals sparkled.

A beautiful record. I may start collecting these old ballet LPs. I don’t think I’ll try to dance to them, though.

8.4.12

We visited the small stand of cherry blossoms outside of Robarts Library to take a few Instax photos the other day. Amazing how even a small amount of trees in bloom can make passers-by seem so happy as they pull out their phones to take pictures. We are so bloom-starved!

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on the Light as a Feather collection (I am feeling a little comment-replying fatigue, but I appreciate the comments, of course). Thanks again to Anja and Megan for doing such a lovely job with the photos. The scarves will be available in limited quantities tomorrow, April 9, starting at 2PM EDT, in our shop. Thank you!

5.4.12

I am so happy to finally share images of the silk scarves that I have been hinting at and wringing my hands over for quite a while now. I hope you like them!

This line consists of large, 100% silk scarves with luxurious hand-rolled hems featuring blown-up versions of photographs taken in the late 1800s. They are all black and white, and when folded or worn produce an abstract texture that I really like, personally. The silk is quite lustrous and drapes beautifully. You could hang them on the wall if you wanted to, of course.

There are four of them in total: a mountain (Mount Sir Donald in British Columbia), an ice cave, a meteor in the constellation of Orion, and statues in the Gallery of Ancient Statues in Naples, with Venus of Gallipede in the foreground.

I asked Anja if she would be willing to shoot the scarves, because I always love her photoshoots (like “So Long, Marianne,” which was so good!), and luckily Megan was available for styling (she called the look “soft goth Lady Mary”--amazing). I wanted the photos to have a hint of that Pacific Northwest magic that I might not have been able to achieve on my own, and Anja delivered! She threw in a few double exposures, and I just love them. Thanks, Dream Team.